Through the Fire
by Xtremeroswellian
Summary: Sergeant Cruz's true plans for Bosco are finally revealed and they're not good. Will Faith be able to help him? Or will she be too busy trying to protect her own family? Conclusion ADDED AS OF 3/19/03!!!
1. Default Chapter

Title: Through the Fire (1/5?)

Author: X_tremeroswellian

Email: X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. Okay, well, I don't wish Cr*z or Fr*d were mine. Ed Bernero can keep them ;) 

Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content

Spoilers: Up through and including "Crime and Punishment II" 

Summary: Sergeant Cruz's true plans for Bosco are finally revealed and they're not good. Will Faith be able to help him? Or will she be too busy trying to protect her own family? 

Distribution: My site, Only Time

Category: Story

Subcategories: Drama/angst/friendship...could evolve into romance, but we'll see ;)

Feedback: Is essential to every writer. Helps keep the muses flowing. 

Author's Note: I know I'm in the middle of writing "Between Time" and my 'There For You' series, but this story was demanding to be written and wouldn't leave me alone until I gave in. 

Author's Note II: The song is "If You Want Me To" by Ginny Owens. 

Dedication: For everyone who dislikes Sgt. Cruz as much as I do. This is not to confuse the wonderful actress, Tia Texada with her character. 

* * *

* * *   
  
The pathway is broken  
And the signs are unclear  
And I don't know the reasons  
Why you brought me here  
But just because you love me  
The way that you do  
I'm gonna walk through the valley  
If you want me to  
  
'Cause I'm not who I was  
When I took my first step  
And I'm clinging to the promise  
That you're not through with me yet  
So if all of these trials bring me closer to you  
I will go through the fire  
If you want me to

* * * 

Through the Fire (Part One) 

"Yokas, can you file this for me? I have to get to dinner or my wife'll have my head," Officer Marcus Browning said, giving her a pleading look.

She sighed and almost told him no. It had been a long shift and she was tired. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep. But she remembered a time not so long ago when her own husband hadn't been understanding if she ran late or missed a dinner date, and she felt a flash of sympathy for the man. She took the stack of papers from him and forced a smile. "Have a nice time," she told him.

"Thanks, you're a life saver," he said, flashing her a wide grin.

"Sure," she murmured, turning away. She sighed again and walked up the stairs to hand in the reports to Lt. Swersky. She quickly discovered he wasn't in his office. Damn, she cursed inwardly. Now she'd have to track him down.

Wonderful.

The day had started off much like every other day the past week had. She'd got up in time to fix breakfast for Fred and the kids, then had gone back to bed and tried to sleep til around one without much success. 

She couldn't remember the last time she *had* slept well. It felt like months. Since before Fred's heart attack, at the very least. 

Then she'd gotten ready to come to work, only to learn she was being paired with someone else for the shift. Again. But not because Bosco was working another anti-crime shift. Today he had the day off. She remembered a time when she knew what his schedule was because they used to coordinate their days off as often as they could so they could avoid having to get stuck working with someone else. Apparently those days were over. 

She and Bosco barely even spoke anymore lately, let alone coordinate schedules. Things between them had never been this bad before and she wasn't sure the damage could be repaired this time. 

She felt a wave of sadness hit her at the thought--a sadness that ran very deep and bordered on desperation. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and leaned against the wall for support. 

They had been partners for eight years, and best friends for seven and a half those eight years. The thought of that being over hurt badly. 

The past few weeks had been awful, and she had to admit that a lot of it was her fault, starting with when she had cancer and didn't tell him. Bosco had assumed it was because she didn't trust him, and that couldn't be farther from the truth. The truth was she didn't want to be treated like she was sick or dying by anyone else. She didn't want to see the same fear and worry in her partner's eyes as she did in her husband's. Didn't want to be reminded every time she looked at the people she loved that she might be not be around come Christmas time. It was selfish and wrong, but that was the truth. 

And then all the stuff with Bosco's brother and Hobart had happened. And she had watched helplessly as her best friend had started to sink into a serious depression. When she told Swersky that Bosco needed someone to talk to and he'd been forced to go see a counselor, he'd been furious with her for days. 

They'd gotten past that, of course, but it had been one thing after another this past year. 

She'd said horrible things to him at the hospital after Fred's heart attack and while he'd never brought it up, she knew she'd hurt him deeply and she felt a horrible amount of guilt over it. Any time she had started to bring up the incident, he cut her off or changed the subject. She'd tried to apologize more than once, but he never let her. What's done was done and she couldn't take back the words she'd said. 

Ever since then things between them had been tense and she always felt like she was walking on eggshells around him. 

And now. Now he was working part time in anti-crime, and he hadn't been acting like himself since the day Miguel White had been shot. Since the day she confronted him, asked him if the gangster that shot the young boy had really given up Vernon Marks in his dying words, or if Sgt. Cruz had been lying. He'd paused, looked her straight in the eye and lied to her. 

She wasn't sure Bosco had -ever- lied to her before and she wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. He hadn't said more than two words to her since that day. In fact, he'd gone out of his way to avoid her since then. 

She hated it when he was angry with her. She and Bosco had had plenty of arguments and disagreements throughout their partnership and while she didn't care to fight with him, either, she could handle that. It was the silent treatment that she couldn't deal with. 

And she and Bosco had never gone this long before without talking. One of them always, always broke down and initiated a conversation between them so they could work things out. Usually her. 

Maybe she just didn't matter to him at all anymore. 

Her heart ached at the thought and she quickly shoved it aside as she remembered the task at hand: finding Swersky and handing in the paperwork so she could go home and not sleep some more. 

She headed down the nearly empty hallway once more. 

"This could turn bad, Sergeant." 

"I'm aware of that, Dobson!" someone snapped, her tone hushed. 

Faith paused at Cruz's voice. 

"So what do we do?" 

"I'll call Boscorelli in on it. If things go wrong, we'll pin it on him." 

"Boscorelli?" Dobson repeated.

"Why do you think I agreed to let him work with us in the first place?" she hissed. "Because he's a good cop? No. Because he's a screw-up and everyone in the precinct knows it. If we blame him if something goes wrong, no one will even question it!" 

Faith narrowed her eyes, hatred for the woman filling her. You bitch, she thought, her hands curling into involuntary fists. 

"Yokas, what are you still doing here?" 

She jumped, startled, then cursed inwardly as she turned to see Sergeant Christopher standing behind her, his arms folded across his chest. "I was just on my way to find Swersky to hand in some paperwork," she said, her voice low. 

"That's funny. It sort of looked like you were standing there eavesdropping to me," he replied with a smirk on his face. 

She resisted the urge to hit him. "Well, I wasn't. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find the lieutenant." She turned and started to walk down the hallway, her mind racing. Bosco was being set up in a very big way and he had no idea. She had to talk to him, warn him before it was too late. 

As she passed the office doorway where Cruz and Dobson were talking, she didn't look or she would have seen the glare that the woman sergeant had on her face. 

* * *

"That stupid bitch," Cruz said angrily, shutting the door and shaking her head. She began to pace the office floor. 

"Do you think she heard anything?" Dobson asked, worry obvious in his voice. 

She turned and looked at him, her eyes flashing. "If she did, she just signed her own death warrant." She ran a hand through her dark hair. "Get Martin and Savenski to follow her." 

"What should I tell them?" 

"Tell them to make sure she keeps her big mouth shut. I don't care how they do that, but make sure they know that if that bitch breathes one word of it to anyone, they're the ones who'll be sorry," Cruz warned darkly.

Dobson nodded and hurried out of the office and down to the corridor to find his colleagues. 

Sgt. Cruz shook her head, a small smile on her face. "Too bad for you, Officer Yokas," she said under her breath. "No one fucks with me and gets by with it." 

* * *

Faith sat on the nearly empty subway car, staring out the window and biting her thumbnail absentmindedly. She had already called Fred and told him she was running late and had to go talk to Bosco. He had simply said, "Okay, be careful" and told her he loved her. 

A few months ago, he would have screamed at her over the phone and demanded she come home immediately. Everything was different now. 

She wondered briefly if she should have talked to Sergeant Christopher about what she'd overheard, but then she realized he probably wouldn't care anyway. Christopher'd had it out for Bosco since he transferred to the 55th. For all she knew, he was in on it with Cruz and Dobson. 

Bastards, she thought, feeling intense anger threaten to overwhelm her. How could they do that to him? Bosco was a damned good cop and he had a heart of gold, even though he kept that fact hidden when he was around most people. 

She glanced around the car. Two big guys were sitting near the back, talking quietly. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and quickly dialed Bosco's home phone number again. 

The machine picked up once more, so either he was already in bed, out on a date, or saw it was her calling on caller I.D. and chose not to answer. She cringed at the last thought. "Bosco, it's me, Faith. Look, if you're there, pick up." She paused and waited for a moment, hoping. When no one answered, she closed her eyes briefly. "Bosco, okay, look, I'm on my way over to your place right now. I have to talk to you, it's really important." She stood up as the subway car pulled to a stop and the doors opened. She grabbed her purse and headed for the exit. "It's 11:21 right now. I'll be at your place in like fifteen minutes, Boz, so--" 

Suddenly she felt something hard being pressed against her lower back. "Hang up the phone, bitch," a cold voice commanded. 

Her heart skipped a beat and she slowly lowered the cell phone from her ear and shut it off. 

"Don't turn around. Get off the car slowly and do exactly what I tell you. If you try anything, I won't hesitate to pull the trigger. Do you understand?" 

"Yes," she answered, her tone quiet but calm, despite her fear. She walked slowly onto the subway platform, her eyes darting arond the station. The place was virtually empty. Her heart sank. 

"Keep walking," the man said harshly. 

Faith swallowed hard, her gaze dropping to her purse. If only somehow she could get to her gun...

He shoved the barrel of the gun harder into her back, forcing her to keep moving. 

"I don't have very much money, but you can have my credit cards and my watch," she said, her voice soft. 

"Don't want your money," the man replied. 

Stay calm, she told herself, reminding herself to take some deep breaths. 

He shoved her behind the nearest empty stairwell. "Drop your purse," he commanded. 

Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, Faith slowly lowered her purse to the ground. She heard a soft thud as he kicked it away from her, heard the metallic jangling of her change as it spilled out of her wallet and rolled away.

So much for my gun, she thought grimly. 

She cried out as she was suddenly struck hard in the back. She stumbled forward, fell against the wall. A large hand covered her mouth. "Keep your fucking mouth shut, bitch! You make a sound and you're dead," he whispered harshly, his breath hot against her ear. 

He forced her up against the wall, keeping his hand over her mouth, then reached up with his other hand and yanked her head backward by her hair. Tears sprang to her eyes at the sudden pain. 

"Hurry up," another voice urged.

"Shut up," the man behind her snapped. "You listen very carefully to what I'm about to tell you, because this is the only warning you're going to get, Officer Yokas," he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear. 

Her eyes widened and for a moment she stopped struggling. What the hell was going on? How did this son of a bitch know her name? 

"Don't fuck with Sergeant Cruz. We know you heard a private conversation she had earlier and if you so much as repeat one word of that conversation to -anyone-, you're going to regret that decision." He released the hold he had on her hair, his hand wrapping around her throat instead. He squeezed tightly and she struggled to breathe, instinct forcing her to reach up and try to pry his hand away. He shoved her against the wall once more, her cheek pressed roughly against the concrete. "Do you know what happens to an officer who's a snitch?" he asked coldly. He yanked her head back by her hair again. "The people they care about get hurt real bad. Like their pretty little teenage daughters." 

A surge of rage flooded her and without thinking about it, she elbowed him in the stomach as hard as she could. 

She heard him gasp from the pain, then she cried out as he used his foot to kick her legs out from under her, causing her to fall to the ground face-first, the wind knocked out of her. Red and black spots shimmered in front of her eyes and she tasted the coppery-metallic taste of blood in her mouth. 

"Guess we do this the hard way," the man said. 

There was an explosion of pain in her ribs as he kicked her in the side. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to pass out as he kicked her again.

"Your daughter's real cute. Guess she gets that from you, 'cause her dad sure ain't much to look at," he commented as he lowered himself down on her back, pressing the barrel of his gun against the back of her head. 

A tear escaped the corner of her eye. 

With his free hand, he jerked her left arm behind her back roughly, twisting it hard. The pain was white hot, streaking through her like a flash of lightening. She bit down on her tongue, refusing to cry out again. 

"Now I'm sure that we can come to an agreement," the man said, leaning down and kissing the side of her neck. "Because I'd hate for anything to happen to your daughter. Her name is Emily, right?" 

"Fuck you," she whispered, refusing to give in to her fears as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. 

He chuckled, licked her earlobe lightly. "Be careful what you wish for, Officer Yokas. A guy might take you seriously. Pretty lady like you..." He moved his hand down the side of her body, his fingertips brushing against her breast. 

She shuddered and fought the urge to vomit. 

"But as great as you probably are, I bet that hot little daughter of yours is even better." 

"You son of a bitch!" she said angrily, struggling against his hold on her. 

He shoved her head down against the cold, concrete floor with the barrel of his gun. "I'd love to get my hands on her," he whispered in her ear. "Of course, I'd have to get rid of her afterward. I'd do it the right way. They'd never link it back to me. They'd be pulling her pieces from the river for months. Probably never find all of her." He twisted her arm again, making her feel as though she were being ripped in two. 

"Please," she choked out, hating herself for uttering the plea. 

"I can get to her at any time, day or night. I know where you live, I know where she goes to school, I know where she and her friends hang out. It would only take a second and you'd never see her again. I wonder if you could deal with that, knowing that you killed your own daughter." He paused, yanked on her arm once more and this time she was unable to supress the sob that escaped her throat. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her ear once more. "If you open your mouth, I'll get to find out." 

"Leave her alone," Faith whispered, the pain making her vision blurry.

"As long as you keep your mouth shut, no one else has to get hurt. Your family and your little Emily stay safe. I know that's what you want, isn't it, Officer Yokas?" He twisted her arm a little harder, forcing her to answer. 

"Yes," she choked out, another tear escaping her eye.

"That's what I thought." He loosened his grip on her arm, but only slightly. "And that can happen. All you have to do is keep your mouth shut and pretend you never heard that conversation that Sgt. Cruz had today. Because if you don't, I promise you that your daughter will be the one to pay the price. And there won't be a thing you can do to protect her. Do you understand?" 

She swallowed, more tears streaming down her cheeks. "Yes," she whispered. 

"Good." He planted a kiss on her cheek and she shuddered once more as he let go of her arm and stood up. 

There was a sudden explosion of pain in her head. 

Then everything grew dark.

* * *

Bosco unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped inside, kicking the door shut behind him and turning the lock. He dropped his keys on the kitchen counter and walked over to his couch. He sat down and laid his head back against the cushions, closing his eyes and sighing heavily. 

He'd had the day off from work and had spent the hours visiting with his mother and helping her at the bar. He was tired--he hadn't been sleeping well for weeks now. Not that he ever slept -well- to begin with, but he usually got at least five or six hours of shut-eye a night. These days he was averaging two or three. 

He opened his eyes again and his gaze landed on a framed picture on the coffee table. The photo was one of his favorites; it was a picture of him and Faith at Haggerty's that Kim Zambrano had taken a couple years ago. In the picture, he was sitting across a table from Faith, but they were leaning toward each other, their elbows on the table as they talked. Her hair was down and a smile was on her face. 

He remembered that night with vivid clarity. The whole gang had gone out after the shift to celebrate Doc's fortieth birthday. He and Faith had both been in good moods for a change because they'd managed to apprehend a rapist the precinct had been searching for for nearly six weeks. He remembered that he and Faith had toasted each other on a job well done, smiling and laughing. He had driven her home later that night after they'd stopped at their special place and talked for awhile alone. 

It seemed like such a long time ago, and he found himself unable to recall the last time he and Faith had actually sat down to talk, really talk. 

He squeezed his eyes shut again, memories of his last conversation with her running through his head. 

//"We would have found another way." 

He could see the disappointment in her eyes, and he swallowed hard, looked away briefly, not because he was unable to deal with her disappoinment, but because he was disappointed with himself and if he looked at her for too long, she would see that, too.

"I gotta go. I'm gonna go tell Miguel and his mother that Vernon's goin' away." He gazed at her for a second longer, then turned away. 

"Is it true?" she asked softly, following him.

"What?" He turned to face her once more. 

"Did he really give you Vernon? Just between you and me, is it true?" Her eyes pleaded with him to be honest with her, to trust her. 

Bosco looked right at her. "Completely true."//

He cringed and raked a hand through his short hair, wishing he could have that moment back, wishing he had been honest with her. But he hadn't been and there was nothing he could do to change that now. He wasn't totally sure why he hadn't been honest with her. There were lots of reasons, lots of excuses, but none of them were really valid. 

He knew she knew that he had flat-out lied to her, which was something he had never done before. Not to Faith. And now he couldn't even look in her in the eye anymore. He had screwed up big time.

It's not like she's never lied to me before, he thought, feeling a brief surge of anger as he remembered how she hadn't trusted him enough to tell him about her abortion, or that she'd had cancer. At least not until she felt like she had no choice but to tell him.

He exhaled slowly. But that was the past. He'd been angry with her, hurt that she hadn't talked to him, but he had forgiven her. Because that's what best friends did. 

Just as she'd forgiven him for all of the snide, rude remarks he'd made to her over the years. 

But now...

Now he'd been avoiding her for nearly two weeks. He didn't have any idea how to make this better, wasn't even sure she wanted him to try. For all he knew, she didn't give a damn about him anymore. 

He opened his eyes again, pushing all the thoughts away. He needed to get some sleep. Maybe if he did everything would be clearer in the morning and he'd suddenly know what to do about the whole messed-up situation with Faith. 

He pushed himself off the couch and stood up, heading for his bedroom when the flashing light on his answering machine caught his attention. 

Bosco pressed play and waited. 

"You have two messages. Message one," the electronic voice told him.

"Bosco, it's me." 

He was momentarily startled at the unexpected sound of her voice. 

"Something happened, I really need to talk to you. Please call me on my cell phone when you get this message." There was a hint of urgency to her tone. 

He immediately reached for the phone to call her back when the second message began to play. It was Faith again, and if anything, this time she sounded even more upset. 

"Bosco, it's me, Faith. Look, if you're there, pick up." There was a brief pause. "Bosco, okay, look, I'm on my way over to your place right now. I have to talk to you, it's really important. It's 11:21 right now. I'll be at your place in like fifteen minutes, Boz, so--" 

His eyes flew to the digital clock on his v.c.r. It was 11:52 p.m. She should have been here by now, he thought, frowning deeply. The next words on his machine made him freeze.

"Hang up the phone, bitch!" a cold male voice commanded harshly.

"End of messages," the electronic voice said. 

He instantly hit play again, skipping to and listening to the second message again. Dread knotted his stomach. She's in trouble. He picked up the phone and dialed her cell number from memory. 

"Come on, answer," Bosco muttered. 

"Your call has been forwarded to automated voice messaging. Please leave a message at the tone." 

"Dammit," he cursed, hanging up the phone. He hit the first number on his speed dial programming. 

It rang five times before a familiar voice mumbled a sleepy, "Hello?" 

"Fred, it's Bosco. Is Faith there?" he asked urgently. 

There was a pause. "No. She said she needed to talk to you about something, that she'd be home late." 

"Son of a bitch!" He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "Was she taking a cab or the bus?" 

"She's not there yet?" There was obvious confusion in Fred's voice. 

"If she was here with me, would I be calling you to find out where the hell she was?" Bosco snapped. 

There was a moment of silence on the other end. "I think she was taking the subway." 

He hung up the phone without another word and ran toward the door, grabbing his car keys off the kitchen counter. 

* * *

He made it to the nearest subway station in three minutes flat, breaking every traffic law ever invented. He didn't even bother trying to find a parking space. He left his car in the middle of the street and ran for the stairs that led to the subway tunnels. 

His heart was pounding heavily in his chest. He didn't know what he was going to find, but he knew it wouldn't be good. She was in trouble, he felt it with every breath he took. 

His worst fears were confirmed as he ran down the subway platform toward a group of five or six people crowded around the next stairwell. He spotted the familiar black leather backpack that she carried as a purse, saw the contents strewn about on the platform. 

"Let me through," he commanded, shoving his way past the people. "Faith! Oh, my God." Bosco dropped to his knees beside her motionless body where she lay face-down on the cold concrete floor. She didn't answer him and for a moment, he feared the worst. Then instinct took over and he reached down and gently touched her wrist, searching for a pulse. It was there, steady, but slow. 

He reached into his jacket pocket and yanked out his cell phone, quickly dialing 911. 

"911, how can I help you?" 

"This is Officer Maurice Boscorelli wtih the 55th P.D. I need a bus and the police at the 22nd Street subway right now! I have an officer down!" 

"A bus and a squad car have been dispatched to your location, Officer. Hold on." 

Bosco dropped the phone to the ground with a clatter. "Faith, can you hear me? Faith?" he said urgently. He reached out to touch her face when he caught sight of the blood trickling down her cheek. He swallowed hard and followed the trail of red liquid to the back of her head. Her strawberry blond hair was matted down with it, the collar of her jean jacket stained with it. There was so much blood...

He felt his stomach turn and he fought to breathe. He felt anger replace the fear and horror and he rose to his feet, glaring a the crowd gathered around. "Who did this to her?" he demanded, looking at each person in turn.

No one answered, they simply stared at him.

He grabbed the guy closest to him. "Did you do this to her, jag-off? Did you hurt her?" 

"No," the man protested, his eyes wide as he shook his head. 

"Who did? Answer me!" 

He heard the wail of sirens from outside. "No one goes anywhere," he said darkly, glaring at them all. He knelt down beside Faith again, touched her hand. "Hold on, Faith, you're gonna be all right," he told her, looking up in time to see two paramedics coming down the stairs. "Over here!" he shouted. As they got closer, he moved out of the way. "Her name is Faith Yokas. She's my partner, she's hurt." 

"We're gonna take good care of her," one of the medics promised. 

Bosco swallowed hard and watched as they moved her onto a stretcher as the officers arrived on the scene and began interviewing the bystanders. 

He felt the rage building up within him. Whoever had done this was going to pay dearly. 

Because Bosco was going to kill the bastard.


	2. 2

Title: Through the Fire (2/6)

Author: X_tremeroswellian

Email: [X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com][1]

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. Okay, well, I don't wish Cr*z or Fr*d were mine. Ed Bernero can keep them ;) 

Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content

Spoilers: Up through and including "Crime and Punishment II" 

Summary: Sergeant Cruz's true plans for Bosco are finally revealed and they're not good. Will Faith be able to help him? Or will she be too busy trying to protect her own family? 

Distribution: My site, Only Time

Category: Story

Subcategories: Drama/angst/friendship...could evolve into romance, but we'll see ;)

Feedback: Is essential to every writer. Helps keep the muses flowing. 

Author's Note: I know I'm in the middle of writing "Between Time" and my 'There For You' series, but this story was demanding to be written and wouldn't leave me alone until I gave in. 

Author's Note II: The song is "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins.

Dedication: For everyone who dislikes Sgt. Cruz as much as I do. This is not to confuse the wonderful actress, Tia Texada with her character. 

* * *

* * * 

And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh Lord  
I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, Oh Lord  
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh Lord, Oh Lord  
And I've been waiting for this moment all my life, Oh Lord, Oh Lord  
  
Well I remember, I remember don't worry  
How could I ever forget  
It's the first time, the last time we ever met  
But I know the reason why   
You keep your silence up  
No you don't fool me  
The hurt doesn't show; but the pain still grows  
It's no stranger to you or me  
  
And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh Lord...

* * * 

Through the Fire (Part Two) 

"Is she okay? Is she awake?" Bosco demanded as he stood up and faced Nurse Proctor. 

"Easy, Bosco. She's conscious and alert and none of her injuries are life-threatening."

"So she's okay?" 

"She has a dislocated shoulder, a couple of cracked ribs, a mild concussion and a lot of cuts and bruises." She looked like she wanted to say something else, but she hesitated. 

"Proctor?" he prompted. 

"We're getting ready to run another test, but you can go in and see her before we begin." She wouldn't meet his eyes. 

"Wait, what kind of test?" he asked, worried. 

"Go talk to Faith," she answered, her voice low. She turned and walked toward the nurse's station. 

Bosco stared after her for a long moment. Then he took a deep breath and walked down the hall to exam room #2. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, leaned his head against the door, doubt flooding his mind. Would she even want to see him?

Without pondering the question too long, he raised his hand and knocked lightly. 

"Come in," he heard her say. 

Bosco swallowed hard, opened the door and stepped inside, his gaze instantly locking on her. He saw the surprise on her face that quickly changed into confusion. "Hey." 

"Hey," she said back, staring at him. 

He closed the door behin dhim, shoved his hands into his pockets. "How you feelin'?" he asked, wincing at all the bruises on her face and neck.

She dropped her gaze to the blanket covering her. "Looks worse than it is," she said with a shrug. 

He nodded doubtfully. "Proctor said they were getting ready to do some other test?" He waited for her to respond and when she didn't, he said, "Faith?" 

She lifted her gaze to his. "A rape kit." 

Bosco felt like someone punched him in the stomach. For a moment he literally couldn't breathe, he simply stared at her in shock. "What?" 

"Bosco--" 

"You were--"

"No," she cut him off. "At least, I don't think so." 

He swallowed hard and leaned heavily against the door. "Then why--" 

"Just in case. Because I was unconscious for awhile." 

"Faith, what the hell happened?" 

She opened her mouth to respond when there was a knock on the door. It opened a moment later and he quickly moved to avoid getting hit. He turned and saw Proctor standing there, holding a box that contained the contents of the rape evidence collection kit. "Faith, are you ready?" she asked. 

Faith closed her eyes momentarily, then opened them again. "Yeah." 

Proctor glanced at Bosco. "You can wait out in the waiting room or the hallway. Unless you wanted him to stay," she said, looking at Faith. 

Bosco turned to look at Faith, who shifted uncomfortably. 

"No, it's fine, I'll be okay." 

"Okay. I'll...be outside, waiting," he said quietly. 

"Bosco?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Can you call and tell Fred that I'm okay?" 

"You want me to have him come up here?" 

"No. Not yet. Just tell him that I'm all right and that I'll call him as soon as I can." 

Bosco nodded. 

"Thanks." 

"No problem," he told her. 

* * *

Faith kept her eyes focused on the ceiling during the pelvic exam. The last forty minutes had been the most humiliating forty minutes of her life. In all the cases where she'd had to escort victims of sexual assault to the hospital to have a rape kit done, she'd never once had a clue what going through one was actually like. 

First Proctor had collected the clothes she'd been wearing in case there were traces of semen or other DNA evidence on them. She'd placed them in a large plastic bag, along with the plastic gloves she'd been wearing when she took them from Faith. Then she had Faith stand in the middle of the room on a white sheet while she'd combed her hair and pubic hair with small black combs, which she'd placed in separate, labeled bags. Then Proctor had folded the sheet up and placed it in a plastic bag, as well. Then there were fingernail scrapings and blood samples taken, and then oral, anal and vaginal swabs done, all placed in separate air-tight containers in the rape examination kit box. 

Proctor had had to call a doctor in to perform the pelvic exam since nurses weren't trained to do that. And since there were no female doctors working that night, Dr. Thomas had been called in. 

"How are you doing, Faith?" 

She swallowed hard and turned her head to see Proctor still standing beside her with a concerned look. The emotions reflected in the other woman's eyes brought all of her own emotions crashing down around her and she struggled to control them, blinking back tears as they formed. "I'm okay," she lied.

She wasn't okay; she was far from okay. She'd been brutally assaulted physically--if not sexually--by two men, two fucking *cops* from her precinct. The emotions whirled up within her and she was forced to look away from the sympathy the nurse was extending.

Faith closed her eyes tightly, willing herself to focus on breathing. She felt Proctor squeeze her hand gently. She'd forgotten that the woman had held her hand out when Dr. Thomas had come in and Faith had gripped onto her without really thinking about it, and had apparently been holding her hand ever since. 

She was grateful for the nurse's calming presence, even though a few weeks ago, she'd commanded Bosco to arrest her. She winced at the memory.

That night had *not* been one ofher finest moments. In more ways than one. 

Faith shoved the thoughts away when Dr. Thomas stood up. She opened her eyes and looked at him, feeling sick to her stomach as her heart thumped rapidly against her chest and she waited for the man to speak. 

He gave her a reassuring smile. "I don't see evidence of any sexual activity." 

She laid her head back against the pillow, letting out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. She said a silent prayer of thanks along with a promise that the next Sunday she didn't have to work, she'd go with her husband to church. 

"I'd like to keep you here overnight, just to keep an eye on your head injury. If all goes well, you can be out of here by tomorrow evening." 

Faith nodded slightly in agreement. 

"Okay. I'll make sure that you're in a regular room within an hour or so. If you need anything, feel free to have one of the nurses page me," Dr. Thomas told her. 

"Thank you," she said quietly. 

He nodded and left the room. 

Proctor squeezed her hand once more, then let go. "How's your shoulder feeling?" 

"Sore," she answered. 

The nurse nodded. "I'll see what we can do about getting you some more Vicadin. Are you ready to see Bosco?" 

Bosco. 

Faith felt her stomach clench once more. God, what am I going to tell him? she wondered, starting to feel a twinge of panic. 

_//"All you have to do is keep your mouth shut and pretend you never overheard that conversation that Sgt. Cruz had today. Because if you don't, I promise you that your daughter will pay the price. And there won't be a thing you can do to protect her."// _

Fear washed over her. How was she going to protect her daughter and warn Bosco of the danger he was in? There had to be some way, but how? 

"Faith?" Proctor's voice startled her out of her frantic thoughts. 

She swallowed hard, a forced smile on her face. "Yeah, I'm ready," she said. The second lie she had told so far that night. How many more would she have to tell before all was said and done? 

"Okay, I'll send him in." Proctor picked up the rape evidence collection kit box and left the room. 

Faith pulled herself up with her uninjured arm so that she was in sitting position. _Think, _she commanded herself, running a shaky hand through her hair. 

The detectives were sure to show up soon, not to mention all the questions that Bosco and Fred were going to have. She had to come up with some idea of what she was going to tell everyone. It wasn't like telling the truth was an option, not if she wanted to make sure her kids stayed safe. Because there was no doubt in her mind that Cruz would follow through on the threats her goons had made. 

There was a knock on the door. 

Time's up, she thought, her heart sinking. 

"Come in," she said, her voice distant even to her own ears. 

The door opened and she looked up to see Bosco lingering in the doorway, his gaze locked on her face. His hands were stuffed into his jean pockets, something he only did when he was nervous. 

She saw the fear in his eyes and was thrown for a moment. 

He looked like he watned to say something, but he remained silent. She could practically feel the tension he was feeling just by looking at him. 

It suddenly dawned on her what he was wanting to ask, so she answered. "It was negative." 

He released a breath. "They're sure?" 

She nodded slowly. "There's no evidence that I was sexually assaulted." 

Bosco closed his eyes. "Thank God," he muttered. He opened his eyes and looked at her again, walking closer to her bedside. "How ya feeling?" 

"I've had better days," she replied, grimacing as her left arm ached. 

"Should I get Dr. Thomas?" he asked immediately. 

"No, I'm fine, the painkiller's wearin' off." She laid her head back against the pillow and gazed at him. He still looked nervous and uneasy and she knew he was trying to figure out what to do. She hadn't seen Bosco like that more than a handful of times in all the years they'd known each other, and every time she had it was when she or someone he cared about had been hurt in some way. 

"Faith, what happened?" he asked finally, meeting her gaze. 

She swallowed hard. Before she even had a chance to respond, she caught sight of movement in the doorway. Her eyes widened as her husband walked in, his face pale. 

Bosco turned to see who she was looking at. 

"Baby, are you okay?" Fred whispered, walking over to her. He reached out and touched the side of her face gently, wincing. 

"Yeah, Fred, I'm fine," she said quickly with a forced smile. 

"Are you sure? What did the doctor say?" 

"It's nothing major. A couple of cracked ribs, a mild concussion, some cuts and bruises." 

"Why's your arm in a sling?" 

"Dislocated shoulder. They had to pop it back into place." She glanced at Bosco for a second and saw a pained expression on his face. 

"They gonna keep you?" Fred questioned, worry in his tone.

"Yeah, just tonight for observation." Faith suddenly felt a new onslaught of anxiety take hold of her. "Where are the kids?" 

"At home. Emily's with Charlie and I talked to Mrs. Hall and she said she'd keep an eye out in case they needed anything," he told her gently, brushing some hair out of her face. "What happened, Faith?" 

At that moment there was another knock on the door. She glanced up and saw Detective Hall and Detective Newcastle. 

_Great,_ she thought.

"This a good time, Officer Yokas?" asked Detective Hall. 

Faith drew in a deep breath. _It's now or never,_ she thought, her mind trying to come up with answers to questions she knew they were going to ask. "Come in." 

The detectives nodded to Bosco, who looked less than enthused to see them. 

"How's anti-crime treatin' ya?" Detective Newcastle asked, chewing on a piece of gum. 

"Can't complain," he answered shortly, folding his arms across his chest. He shifted his gaze to her again. 

She couldn't look at him for long before focusing her attention on the detectives. Not if was going to be able to do this and make it believable. He'd see right through her. 

"How are you doing?" Detective Hall asked, his tone quiet as he looked at her. 

"I've had two kids. This is nothing," Faith said, not willing to let them think her weak. She'd worked too long and too hard at earning and keeping respect as one of the only female officers at the 55th to blow it now. 

Hall smiled slightly and glanced at his partner. 

"You okay to answer some questions?" Newcastle asked.

"Yeah," she answered, relieved that her voice was calm and steady compared to her emotions. 

There was another knock on the door and everyone turned to look. The detectives were blocking her view of the doorway. 

"What are you doing here?" Bosco asked, his eyes widened slightly and his eyebrows raised as he greeted the newcomer. 

"I heard about what happened. Thought I'd come by, see how Officer Yokas was doing and offer my assistance with the case," a familiar voice said. 

Faith narrowed her eyes as Sergeant Cruz walked over and stood beside him. 

"Any help you can offer would be great, Sarge," Hall told her. 

"Thanks," Bosco said quietly. 

Cruz smiled at them. "No problem. Anything to help one of my own." She nodded to the detectives, then turned her gaze to Faith. "How are you?" she asked. 

"Peachy. How are you?" Faith responded cooly, holding the other woman's gaze. 

"Just hoping I can help put these bastards away." 

_Yeah, right, _she thought, fighting to keep her anger under control.

"Can you tell us what happened, Faith?" 

She forced herself to look at Detective Newcastle. "I was on the subway headed over to Officer Boscorelli's apartment because I needed to talk to him about something. When the car pulled to a stop at the 22nd Street Substation, I got my purse and stood up to get off. As I got to the door, I felt someone press a gun to my back." She watched her husband's face drain of color and she felt guilty. "He told me not to turn around and not to scream. He made me move onto the subway platform, then forced me to walk behind one of the stairwells." 

The detectives exchanged a look, then Hall nodded for her to continue. 

Faith bit her tongue and glanced up to see Cruz staring at her, her eyes narrowed, a warning look in their murky brown pools. 

She felt a rush of of intense hatred for the woman and she shifted her gaze to Bosco momentarily. 

He stood there, waiting for her to continue, a mixture of worry and anger in his blue eyes. 

"He ordered me to hand over my purse. I refused," Faith lied. 

"Why did you refuse?" Newcastle asked, confused. 

"My badge and gun were in my purse. I was afraid they'd kill me if they found out I was a police officer." 

"They?" Hall repeated. 

_Oh, fuck. _

She thought quickly. "Yeah, the other one told the man with the gun to hurry up. That's when I realized there were two." She gazed at the detectives, trying to determine if they were buying it. She was relieved to see no hint of doubt on their faces, then chided herself for thinking there would be. Why would they have any reason to think she might be lying? She was a respected officer on the force with no real record or history of misdoings, and she'd been attacked. Of course they would believe her when she told them about her attackers. They had no reason not to. 

"Go on, Faith," Newcastle urged. 

She took a deep breath. "When I refused to hand over my purse, the guy tried to jerk it off my shoulder, and when that didn't work, he grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back." She lifted her injured arm in its navy blue sling for illustration. "I tried to fight back, but he kicked my legs out from under me and kicked me in the ribs a couple of times. The next thing I knew I was waking up in the hospital." She swallowed hard, folded her hands and rested them on top of the blanket covering her. 

"And you never saw either of the perps?" Hall questioned. 

"No." 

The detectives exchanged a look, then turned to her again. "We're gonna do everything we can to catch these bastards, Faith." 

"Thanks, Barry," she said quietly. _But good fucking luck._ She lifted her gaze to her husband's face. He looked on the verge of crying and her stomach clenched. Dammit. She should have insisted he leave the room during the interview. 

"Feel better," Hall told her as he and Newcastle left the room.

She watched them go and coughed suddenly, causing pain to radiate through her ribs. 

"I'll go get some water," Fred said instantly, turning and leaving the room.

Faith's eyes moved to Cruz, who had a tiny smirk on her face. She narrowed her eyes, her hands clenching involuntarily. 

"Your kids around here somewhere?" Cruz asked innocently, glancing around. 

"No, they're not," Faith answered tensely. 

"Too bad. I wanted to see if your daughter was okay." The sergeant shrugged lightly.

"Why wouldn't she be?" she challenged.

"After the bank robbery. Kids take stuff like that kind of hard. I hope she's all right," Cruz replied easily, her voice overly-sweet. 

"She's fine." Faith locked gazes with her and refused to look away. 

Cruz smiled. "Glad to hear it." She glanced at Bosco. "I'll see you at work in the morning." She looked at Faith again. "Hope you get out of here soon. Say hi to Emily for me." Without another word, she left the room.

She stared after the woman for a long moment until her view of the door was suddenly blocked as Bosco moved into her line-of-sight and stared at her. She lifted her gaze to meet his and her heart sank. She may have managed to fool the detectives and even her husband, but Bosco knew her too well. One look into his eyes and she knew that he knew she'd lied. She should have realized that he would see right through her the same way she always saw right through him when he wasn't being honest. 

"Okay. So do you wanna tell me what really happened?" he asked, gazing at her steadily.

She swallowed hard and diverted her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, her voice low.

Bosco folded his arms across his chest. "Come on, Faith. Something's not right." 

"Yeah, I was attacked and I'm laying in a hospital bed. Of course something's not right," she answered, trying to throw him off guard with sarcasm.

He narrowed his eyes. "Are you doin' this because of the whole thing with Miguel?" he demanded, an accusatory note to his tone.

Faith glanced up at him, startled that he'd brought that up. "No." 

"Because that had nothing to do with you, you weren't working the case. It was none of your business, Faith!" 

She stared at him, hurt by the harsh tone of his voice as he stared back at her. "Bosco, it has nothing to do with that." _At least not directly,_ she thought. 

"Right. I'm sure you're not pissed that I wouldn't fill you in on all the details for once. So what, I don't tell you everything about my life, so you don't tell me anything about yours?" He shook his head. "Oh, wait. That's how it's always been, hasn't it? I have to tell you everything, but you can leave out any details you don't think I need to know like the fact you had cancer!" 

She opened her mouth to reply, but he cut her off before she had the chance. 

"Well, you know what? I'm sick of it! I'm glad to be working anti-crime just so I don't have to be around you anymore. And the next time you need help, I won't be there." Without another word, Bosco turned and headed for the door. 

How could she let him leave without trying to warn him of the danger he was in? An idea suddenly struck her. Tears in her eyes, she swallowed hard. "Bosco, wait!" she pleaded. 

He stopped walking, but didn't turn around to look at her again. 

A tear slid down her cheek and she reached up to brush it away before taking a deep breath. "You know how sometimes...sometimes it's really foggy outside? I mean, like really foggy, so bad you can't see anything. And you're in your car and you're driving and you come to this intersection. But the fog's so thick, you can't see if anything's coming from the other direction. You want to go on, but you're afraid of getting into a wreck. Sometimes you have to roll down your window and listen more carefully and pay really close attention because if you don't, you're gonna end up in a really bad car pile-up." 

Bosco turned around to look at her, his eyebrows furrowed, a blank look on his face. "Faith, what the hell are you talking about?" 

She met his gaze and held it. "I'm saying...listen more carefully, Bosco. Pay attention," she urged, her eyes pleading with him to understand. 

They stared at each other for a long moment. 

The door opened and Fred stepped inside. He walked over to her, a glass of water in his hand. He must have seen the tears in her eyes because he looked up and between her and Bosco. "Is everything okay?" 

"Everything's fine," she said softly, not moving her gaze from Bosco's. "Remember what I said," she whispered.

Bosco stared at her for another moment, then nodded his head slowly. Without another word, he turned and left the room. 

Faith leaned back against the pillow, feeling her heart aching along with all of her physical pains. 

"What's wrong, Faith?" Fred questioned, concerned as he reached down and picked up her hand. 

"It hurts," she said softly.

"Your arm?" 

She looked at him, a sad smile on her face. "That too," she whispered. 

   [1]: mailto:X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com



	3. 3

Title: Through the Fire (3/6)

Author: X_tremeroswellian

Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. Okay, well, I don't wish Cr*z or Fr*d were mine. Ed Bernero can keep them ;) 

Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content

Spoilers: Up through and including "Crime and Punishment II" 

Summary: Sergeant Cruz's true plans for Bosco are finally revealed and they're not good. Will Faith be able to help him? Or will she be too busy trying to protect her own family? 

Distribution: My site, Only Time

Category: Story

Subcategories: Drama/angst/friendship...could evolve into romance, but we'll see ;)

Feedback: Is essential to every writer. Helps keep the muses flowing. 

Author's Note: I know I'm in the middle of writing "Between Time" and my 'There For You' series, but this story was demanding to be written and wouldn't leave me alone until I gave in. 

Dedication: For everyone who dislikes Sgt. Cruz as much as I do. This is not to confuse the wonderful actress, Tia Texada with her character. 

* * *

Through the Fire (Part Three) 

"Where is she?" Faith demanded, her voice hoarse as she staggered toward the crime scene. 

"Faith, baby, wait for me!" Fred called after her as he tried to keep up. 

"Where is she?" she said again, tears in her eyes. 

Bosco turned around, his eyes widening when he saw her. His face was drained of all color as he reached out and put his hands on her shoulders to stop her from getting any closer. "You shouldn't be here," he said, his voice low, strained. 

"Let go of me!" 

"Faith, trust me, you don't want to see," he answered, his eyes pleading with her. 

She ignored his advice and shoved him away from her, plunging herself into the midst of the masses and pushing herself past the hoards of people. 

When she reached the front of the crowd, she froze, feeling the urge to vomit at the sight. She slowly raised her hand to cover her mouth. "Oh, God, no!" 

She felt someone grip her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Faith," she heard Bosco whisper. 

"No," she choked out, shaking her head as she stared down at the drowned, lifeless body of her daughter. "No!" 

Someone grabbed her arm roughly. "This is all your fault!" Fred snarled, glaring at her with hatred flashing in his eyes. 

"No! No! Oh, God, no!" 

"Faith!" 

"Please, no," she whispered, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. 

"Faith. Faith! Wake up! Wake up, Faith!" a voice urged. She felt someone shaking her lightly. 

Her eyes flew open and she struggled to sit up as she found her husband staring down at her with worried eyes. "Where's Emily?" she asked frantically, her heart pounding like the hoofbeats of wild horses. 

"She's at home with Charlie, remember?" he asked gently. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah, Babe, she's fine. You just had a bad dream." 

She shook her head. "I want you to go home and make sure." 

"Faith, I just talked to her on the phone, all right? She's fine. Charlie's fine." 

"No!" She reached out and grabbed his arm, ignoring the pain in her ribs and shoulder. "Fred, I want you to go home and make sure the kids are okay!" 

"Faith--" 

"Please, Fred," she begged, her eyes wet with tears. 

He sighed heavily, clearly not happy. "Fine. But I'm telling you, they're fine. She's a big girl, Faith. She can handle things at home for a few hours. You're the one I'm worried about." 

"Please, I just need you to go make sure," she said, the image of her daughter's lifeless body lying on the ground emblazoned into her mind. 

Fred sighed again. "All right. I'll be back soon," he answered as he headed for the door. 

"Call me when you get there and let me know if they're okay," she whispered, her voice shaking. 

"I will." Without another word, he left the room. 

* * *

The time seemed to drag on for an eternity as Faith stared at the telephone on the table beside her bed, willing it to ring. Her stomach was twisted into knots and she had to fight a difficult internal battle to keep herself from screaming. 

After several more moments, she'd had enough waiting. Something was wrong. He should have called by now, she thought, fear wrapping itself around her. 

She winced as she swung her legs over the side of the hospital bed and glanced down at her hand. She hesitated only a moment before reaching down and yanking the IV needle out of her arm, hissing from the sharp pain. She dropped the IV wires to the floor. Her hand clutched onto the bed rail and she slid off the bed, her bare feet hitting the floor and sending cold chills up her spine. She ignored the pain, the cold, and her fear. The only thing that mattered was getting home to her daughter. 

The shrill ringing of the telephone caused her to jump. She turned and stared at it for a moment. It rang again and she quickly crossed the room and pressed the receiver to her ear. "Fred?" 

There was a pause. "Yeah." 

"Are the kids okay?" she asked anxiously. 

There was another brief pause. "Yeah. I told you they would be." 

Faith squeezed her eyes shut tightly, and said a silent prayer of thanks. She sat down on the edge of her bed, releasing the breath she'd been holding. 

"Look, I'm gonna get them ready, stop by McDonalds and get them somethin' for breakfast, then we'll be up there, okay?" 

"No, you can't bring them here," she said instantly. It would be too easy for someone to grab them and flee without being noticed. As much as she hated it, her kids were safer away from her for the time being. At least until she was out of the hospital. 

"Faith, what's going on?" Fred asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. 

"Nothing. I just don't think it's a good idea for them to be up here. To see me in the hospital." 

"Baby, stop worrying so much. They're a lot stronger than you think. Besides, they saw me when I was in the hospital." 

"Fred, it's just not a good idea," she said quietly, her voice firm. 

"Okay, what aren't you telling me?" 

She closed her eyes again, her head starting to ache. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she lied. 

"Something's not right. You woke up from a nightmare crying, and insisted I come home and check on the kids, and now you don't even want to see them? What the hell is going on, Faith?" he demanded. 

"Fred, nothing's going on, okay? Look, I'm probably going to be released in a few hours anyway, there's no point in coming back up here and taking the chance that you or Em or Charlie will catch something from one of the other patients. Really, I'm fine." 

"You expect me to believe that?" There was a moment of silence. "This got somethin' to do with whatever was going on with you and Bosco last night?" 

"No, it has nothing to do with Bosco," she denied, wincing as she moved farther onto the bed, her ribs protesting the movement. 

"It always has to do with Bosco," he muttered, his voice barely audible. "Fine. You don't want us there, we'll stay here. Call me when you're ready to come home." 

"Fred--" 

The line went dead. 

She laid her head back against the pillows for a moment, tears flooding her eyes. "Dammit," she whispered. 

"You okay?" 

Startled, Faith opened her eyes to see Davis standing in the doorway. She forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." She motioned for him to come in and she started to twist herself around so she   
could hang up the telephone. 

Davis quickly moved forward. "Here, let me get that," he said, taking the receiver from her and placing it on the hook. 

"Thanks, Davis." 

"Sure." He sat down in the chair beside her bed. "I heard about what happened, thought I'd come by, see how you were doing." 

"That's nice of you. I'm okay." 

Davis gazed at her for a moment. "Are you sure? Cause you seem upset." 

She smiled sadly, wishing she could tell him everything, wishing he could somehow help her. "No, just...Fred and I had a fight. But it's okay." 

He nodded understandingly. "They gonna let you out of here today?" 

"Supposed to. I hope. I hate this place," she said with a sigh, closing her eyes momentarily. 

"You and me both," Davis agreed.

"How's Sully doing?" Faith asked quietly, gazing at him again. 

"He's uh..." He shook his head, apparently unable to find the words. 

"Is he still seeing that counselor?" 

"Yeah...but I don't think it's helping. I don't know what to do for him." 

"Yeah, I know what you mean," she said softly, recalling a few months ago when Bosco had gone through something similar. "Don't give up on him." 

"I won't," Davis promised, shaking his head. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "You know, I think they'd both hate that we're comparing them." 

Faith smiled. "Yeah, well, they're more alike than they think." 

"Don't tell them that." 

"Oh, don't worry. I don't have a death wish," she replied, chuckling slightly. 

"Good to know," a familiar voice said from the door. 

Faith turned to see Bosco standing there. The smile slipped from her face as they gazed at each other. 

Davis looked back and forth between them. "Well, I should get out of here." He stood up and looked at Faith. "Glad you're feeling okay, hope to see you back at work soon." 

"Thanks for stopping by, Davis," she said softly, her voice sincere. 

He nodded and then headed for the door. "See ya, Boz." 

"Later, Davis." 

Faith swallowed hard and focused her attention on Bosco again. He was dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt and a pair of blue jeans, his badge hanging around his neck. "You're working?" 

He nodded. "Yeah, an early shift. Cruz requested me specifically." 

She felt herself tense at the other woman's name. "Right." 

Bosco let out a breath and moved hesitantly toward her. "Faith...last night, what I said? I was angry. I didn't mean to--" 

"Boz, don't," she said quietly, shaking her head. 

He gazed at her for a moment, regret in his eyes. But he didn't continue. He looked down at the tile floor. "I still don't understand what you were trying to tell me. I've been trying to figure it out all night, but..." 

Faith's heart sank at his words. 

"Why can't you just tell me?" he asked, his voice quiet as he lifted his eyes to hers once more. 

"Bosco, I--" She cut herself off as Sergeant Cruz stepped into the room, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. Her eyes narrowed. 

"How are you feeling?" Cruz asked, false concern in her voice. She took a sip of her coffee. 

"I'm fine," Faith answered tensely. "And you?" 

"I'm good. I thought I'd come by with Officer Boscorelli, see how you were." 

"That was nice of you," she replied, barely able to keep the sarcasm out of her tone. 

Bosco glanced from her to Cruz, a confused look on his face. 

"Bosco?" 

He turned to look at Faith. 

"Do you think you could go to the vending machines and get me a soda?" she asked, not taking her eyes off Cruz.

"Uh...sure. Your usual?" 

"That'd be great." 

He looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it as he turned and left the room. 

Cruz smirked. "I have to admit, I was impressed with your story last night. That was a great cover. You'd make a good addition to ACU." 

"Why? Cause you're all a bunch of lying, good for nothing dirty cops?" Faith asked coolly. 

The sergeant's eyes narrowed. "Don't forget that your partner is one of us now," she reminded her. 

"He won't be once he sees you for the trouble-making, back-stabbing bitch you really are." 

"He won't see anything except what I tell him to see. That's why I picked him. He's stupid and impetuous. He doesn't think before he acts and everyone knows it." 

"You're not the brightest bulb in the socket yourself," Faith said darkly. "Because you're seriously underestimating him." 

"And you have too much faith in him." Cruz turned to leave. 

"You're not going to get away with this." 

She smirked and turned to look at Faith once more. "There's nothing you can do to stop me. You try and your daughter's as good as dead. Don't be stupid here, Officer Yokas." 

"You go anywhere near my daughter, I'll kill you myself," Faith said seriously, her voice calm. 

Cruz smiled. "Guess we're really not so different after all, are we?" Without another word, she turned and left the room, running into Bosco on her way out. "Let's go, Boscorelli." 

"Give me a minute," he answered. He didn't wait for her to respond as he stepped back into Faith's hospital room. He glanced at her, frowning at the tense expression on her face. "You okay?" he asked as he walked over and held the can of soda out to her. 

"Yeah," she lied, trembling as she took the drink from him. "Thanks." 

"Sure," he murmured, gazing at her worriedly. 

"Boscorelli, move it!" Cruz commanded from the doorway.

He sighed. "I'll uh...I'll be by later, see how you're doing." 

Faith reached out and caught his hand. "Bosco." 

"Yeah?" 

She looked at him, willing him to understand her words. "Watch your back," she said softly. 

Bosco gazed down at her, knowing she was trying again to tell him whatever it was she'd tried to tell him the night before. But since he still didn't know what that was, he simply nodded. "I will," he promised, worried. 

She let go of his hand and watched as he walked out of the room, following Cruz. She cursed inwardly. There had to be something she could to do protect her daughter and her best friend. There had to be. 

But what?

* * *

Go to Part 4

Back to X_tremeroswellian's Third Watch Fanfic


	4. 4

Title: Through the Fire (4/6)

Author: X_tremeroswellian

Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. Okay, well, I don't wish Cr*z or Fr*d were mine. Ed Bernero can keep them ;) 

Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content

Spoilers: Up through and including "Crime and Punishment II" 

Summary: Sergeant Cruz's true plans for Bosco are finally revealed and they're not good. Will Faith be able to help him? Or will she be too busy trying to protect her own family? 

Distribution: My site, Only Time

Category: Story

Subcategories: Drama/angst/friendship...could evolve into romance, but we'll see ;)

Feedback: Is essential to every writer. Helps keep the muses flowing. 

Author's Note: I know I'm in the middle of writing "Between Time" and my 'There For You' series, but this story was demanding to be written and wouldn't leave me alone until I gave in. The song in this part is "Living in Danger" by Ace of Base.

Author's Note II: Special thanks to NYPDBosco for her assistance with this part :) 

Dedication: For everyone who dislikes Sgt. Cruz as much as I do. This is not to confuse the wonderful actress, Tia Texada with her character. 

* * *

* * *   
You're living your life in peace   
And in harmony   
You're making your own decisions   
That's how it's got to be   
For you and me   
So many people just running around and round   
Without no sense or logic   
  
I see lies   
In the eyes of a stranger   
You'll be living in danger   
I see lies   
In the eyes of a stranger   
You'll be living in danger   
I see lies   
In the eyes of a stranger   
You'll be living in danger  
  
People are the same today   
As they used to be   
The same expectations   
So high no one can reach that high   
Not I nor you get satisfied today   
We'll never get enough   
I see lies   
In the eyes of a stranger   
  
You'll be living in danger   
I see lies   
In the eyes of a stranger   
You'll be living in danger   
I see lies   
In the eyes of a stranger   
You'll be living in danger   
  
* * * 

Through the Fire (Part Four) 

"You go around front, I'll take the back," Bosco said as he and Cruz paused at the side of the old warehouse. 

She glared at him. "You think you're runnin' this show, Boscorelli?" 

He frowned. "No. I--" 

"Whatever. Shut up and just go," she commanded. Without waiting for his response, she took off, creeping along the shadows of the building. 

He shook his head, feeling frustrated. He let out a breath as he walked cautiously toward the back of the warehouse, his gun drawn. As he was about to round the corner, he heard Faith's words echo in his mind. //"Watch your back."//

He glanced over his shoulder, back to the alley, hesitating before he forced himself to move into position. He spotted their suspect at the same time their suspect spotted him. "Give it up, Dominick," he called out, his voice steady as he aimed his gun at the man.

"I ain't goin' back to prison, Boscorelli!" Dominick shouted. 

"Yeah, well you should've thought of that before you knocked off that convenience store!" he retorted. "Now put your hands in the air, you're under arrest!" 

"Fuck you!" 

From the corner of his eye, he saw a quick flash of movement and realized Cruz was moving in behind their suspect. "Put your hands in the air!" Bosco repeated, locking eyes with the man. "Don't make me tell you again!" 

Without warning, Dominick turned to run away and saw Cruz standing a few feet away. He hesitated for only a second, then reached for his waistband and pulled out a gun.

"Son of a bitch!" Bosco muttered as he raised his weapon and fired at the same time Cruz did. 

Dominick dropped the gun with a loud clatter, then he fell down, as well. 

"You all right?" Bosco asked, lowering his weapon. 

Cruz nodded and put her gun away. 

He reached for the hand held radio that was tucked into his pocket. "This is 55-Frankie to Central. We need a bus to 10th and McMullen for a GSW." 

"10-4, Frankie." 

Bosco walked over to Dominick, who was moaning in pain and holding his shoulder. He reached down and picked up the man's gun off the pavement. "You never were very bright," he remarked, shaking his head. 

* * *

"I'm gonna wash up," Cruz said shortly as she and Bosco walked into Angel of Mercy hospital awhile later. 

"Geez, what's her problem?" Carlos Nieto mumbled under his breath as he watched her walk down the hallway while he and Doc rolled Dominick in on a stretcher. 

"Beats the hell outta me," Bosco answered, shaking his head. He raked a hand through his hair as he walked alongside the paramedics and into the e.r. where Proctor and Dr. Thomas were waiting for them. 

"You shot me you son of a bitch!" Dominick shouted, glaring at him. 

He rolled his eyes. "You just realized that?" 

"When I get outta here, I'm gonna kick your ass, Boscorelli!!" 

"In your dreams, Dominick. Now just sit back and relax." 

Doc and Carlos exchanged a grin as Bosco handcuffed the hand of the man's uninjured arm to the gurney. 

Bosco glanced at them. "You guys okay here?" 

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Doc assured him. 

He nodded. "I think I'm gonna go see how Faith's doin' while I'm here." 

"Tell her we said hello," the older paramedic responded. 

"Will do. Thanks, Doc." Bosco turned and walked down the hallway to the elevators. He waited impatiently then stepped on when the doors opened. He punched the button for the third floor. 

When he got there, the door to Faith's hospital room was open, but he still felt compelled to knock. 

"Come in," he heard her call. 

Bosco took a deep breath and stepped inside, a small, nervous smile on his face. "Hey." 

She looked up at him, her eyes widened slightly. "Hi." 

He motioned to the door behind him. "We brought a suspect in with a GSW...thought I'd come up and see how you were." 

"Thanks...I'm okay." She gave him a quick smile, but he could tell it was forced. She looked down at the blanket on her bed. 

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. He glanced around. "Where's Fred?" 

"Oh...uh...he went home this morning." 

"He left you here alone?" Bosco stared at her and felt the stirring of anger in his stomach. 

"No, I told him to go...the kids need him." 

"And what about what you need?" 

Faith gazed at him. "Boz, I'm fine," she said softly.

"Yeah, you're fine. You just had the hell beat out of you, no big deal, right?" 

She flinched and looked away. "Bosco..." 

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. There was a long moment of silence. 

"Dr. Thomas said that...I could go home later today." 

Bosco lifted his gaze to look at her. "Yeah?" 

Faith nodded slightly. "Yeah." 

"That's good. That's good news," he said awkwardly. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Fred gonna come pick you up?" 

"I was gonna call a cab," she admitted, shrugging lightly.

He looked at his watch. "How about I swing by after my shift and give you a ride home?" 

"Boz, you don't have to do that." 

"I know," he answered seriously, gazing at her. 

Faith met his gaze and held it. 

"So I'll be here as soon as I'm off work." 

"Okay," she agreed, her tone soft. 

He hesitated, wanting to move closer to her, give her a hug or something, but stopped himself. "All right. So I'll see you later." He headed slowly for the door. 

"Bosco?" 

"Yeah?" He turned to look at her once more. 

"Be careful out there, okay?" 

"I will," Bosco promised, feeling a chill go down his spine. He gave her a small wave and left the room.

* * *

"You both fired your guns?" Lt. Swersky asked, glancing back and forth between Cruz and Bosco later that day at the station house. 

"Yeah, Dominick turned and pulled a gun on Sergeant Cruz and we both shot at him," Bosco answered, leaning against the wall. 

"I'll need to check your weapons." 

Cruz's gaze flickered over to Bosco's face as she handed the lieutenant her duty weapon. He did the same. "Why don't you go get started on the paperwork?" she suggested, her arms folded across her chest. 

"You don't need me for anything?" he asked with a slight frown. 

"Yeah, I need you to go get started on the paperwork," she responded, her eyes narrowed in annoyance. 

Lt. Swersky glanced between them, and nodded his consent for Bosco to leave. 

"Fine." Without another word, Bosco turned and left the room. 

"Seems like you and Bosco aren't getting along so well," Swersky commented, glancing at her as he checked over her gun. 

"We'd get along a hell of a lot better if he'd do what I told him to," she muttered. 

He set her gun down on the table and picked up Bosco's. "Yeah, he's never been great at following orders, but he's a damn good cop," he said, a fond smile on his face. 

Her gaze locked on the weapon in his hands, then shifted to her own weapon. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she quickly did her best to suppress it. This was going to be so much easier than she'd thought it would be. 

"We won't know for sure who fired the round that hit your suspect until we run the ballistics on the bullet from Dominick's shoulder. But you're both clear." Swersky set down Bosco's gun. 

"Thanks, Boss." She reached down and picked up both her and Bosco's weapons. Oh, yeah. So much easier than she'd planned. She turned and walked out of the room, a satisfied smile on her face. She tucked Bosco's weapon safely into her gun holster and walked up the stairs to where he was sitting at a desk attempting to type up the paperwork on one of the typewriters. "We're clear." 

He glanced up at her, his hands paused on the keys. "Already?" 

"Yeah, it doesn't take long. They won't know which of us actually hit him until later." She gave a half-shrug and set her weapon down on the desk in front of him. "I'm gonna take off. You can finish up here, I'll do mine in the morning." 

"Right. See ya." 

"See ya." Cruz turned and walked toward the door, smiling once more. 

"Sergeant!" 

She paused in her steps, annoyed. "What?" She turned to see Bosco headed toward her, the gun in his hands. She glanced down at it, then up at his face. 

"You uh...you gave me the wrong one," Bosco told her. 

"Excuse me?" 

"The gun...this isn't mine. Mine has my badge number under the bottom of the handle. I had it engraved awhile back." He held up the weapon for her to see that the underside of the handle was smooth and blank. 

She clenched her teeth together briefly, trying to hide her anger. "Right. Must have gotten 'em mixed up." Cruz reluctantly reached into her gun holster and removed the weapon. 

"Accidents happen," Bosco said with a slight nod as he took his gun from her. 

"All the time," she replied darkly, a small smile twisting onto her lips. She took her gun back from him, missing the look of confusion that passed over his eyes. Without another word, she turned and left the room. 

* * *

He watched her from the doorway for a long time. 

She was dressed in her own clothes: a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and she was sitting on the bed sideways, her feet dangling off the side as she stared out the window. Her face was still pale, and her arm was in a sling, but the doctors had assured everyone that she was going to be just fine. 

"Hey. Your escort has arrived," Bosco finally spoke up as he stepped inside her room.

Faith looked up at him and for a second she smiled. A real smile, one he hadn't seen from her in weeks. Then it faded quickly and that troubled look returned to her hazel eyes. "Hey. Thanks." 

"Sure," he said, nodding. "They spring you yet?" 

"Yeah, I just have to stop at the nurse's station and sign the papers." 

"How you feelin'? You in pain?" He hadn't meant for it to sound as stupid as it had, but he wanted so badly for things to be normal between them again that he'd felt the need to say -something-. 

"I'm all right. My ribs are sore," she answered. She took a deep breath and slid off the hospital bed, wincing as her feet hit the floor. 

Bosco cringed, remembering how bad it felt to have cracked ribs. He watched as she walked over to the closet and reached up to get her NYPD jacket off one of the hangers. "Here, Faith, let me get that," he said quickly, moving to her side and grabbing the jacket for her. 

Faith looked at him with some surprise, but didn't argue. 

He met her eyes for a moment and offered her a slight smile as he helped her put the coat on, gently draping it over her injured shoulder. "That okay?" 

"Yeah, thanks," she said softly. 

"Sure." Bosco released a short breath and took a step away from her. "You all ready?" 

"I think so, yeah." She took a quick glance around the room, then turned back to him, meeting his gaze once more. 

"All right. Let's get out of here." 

* * *

"How was work?" 

Bosco turned his eyes away from the road in front of him for just a second so he could glance at her. He'd have to have been deaf to miss the tension in her voice as she spoke and for a moment he was confused. "It was okay," he said guardedly. 

"Just okay?" she asked as she stared out the windshield. 

"Yeah. Nothing big went down." 

"Right." 

Silence fell between them once more. 

He flipped on his turn signal and glanced in the rearview mirror before switching lanes. He turned his head to look at her once more. He could tell she was struggling with some internal battle and he wanted to ask her what it was and if he could help, but he wasn't sure she'd want his help. "Faith?" 

"Yeah?" Her tone was soft.

"What's going on?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean...what really happened the other night?" 

"Nothing," she answered quickly. Too quickly. 

Bosco felt the frustration from earlier creeping up on him once more. "Right. Nothing," he said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "Look, I know you've been trying to tell me something, so here we are. We're alone. So why don't you just tell me whatever it is that you wanted to tell me?" 

"I can't." 

"Why not?" 

"Because it's complicated," Faith said quietly, resting her head on the palm of her hand, leaning her elbow against the passenger window. 

"What isn't?" he retorted. He pulled his car onto the street in front of her apartment building and put it in park. Then he shut the engine off and turned to look at her. "Faith." 

"I can't, Bosco," she whispered, closing her eyes. 

He sighed heavily and leaned his head against the head rest, searching his mind for possible explanations. "Well, I'm not good at guessing games. Never have been, never will be. So if it's something I need to know you're gonna have to tell me." 

"You don't know how much I want to." 

Bosco turned his head to gaze at her. There was no mistaking the tears in her eyes. "You in some kind of trouble?" he asked, growing more worried. 

She didn't answer. 

He reached over and touched her arm. "Look, if you are, I'll help you, but you gotta tell me what's going on." 

Faith lifted her head and met his gaze and for a moment he was certain she was about to open up to him. But the moment passed.

Bosco pulled his hand back and gripped onto the steering wheel. "I'll walk you up to your apartment," he said shortly. He reached over and opened his door. 

"Bosco--" 

He climbed out and slammed the driver's side door shut. Then he leaned against his car for a moment, closing his eyes tightly and swearing under his breath. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to calm his anger. Then he walked around to the other side of the car just as Faith was slowly getting out. Without a word he reached his hand out to take the overnight bag that she was carrying. 

Neither of them spoke as they walked up to her apartment building and then slowly ascended the staircase. When she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the keys to her and Fred's apartment, he carefully took them from her and unlocked the door. Then he turned the handle and pushed it open. 

"Thank you," she said quietly, not looking at him. 

"You're welcome." He motioned for her to go in first, then when she did, he followed her, shutting the door behind them. 

"Faith?" 

He looked over and saw Fred sitting on the sofa, but turned to face them, a confused look on his face. 

"Hey, baby," Faith answered, not meeting his gaze. She grimaced and struggled to shrug out of her coat. 

Without thinking about it, Bosco moved forward, setting the overnight bag on the floor and helping her take the jacket off. He didn't catch the dirty look that Fred shot his direction. 

"Thanks, Boz." 

Before he had a chance to respond, Fred cut in with, "The doctor released you?" 

"Yeah, said I was okay to go home as long as I take it easy. No work for a few days, then desk duty for a couple weeks." 

"Why didn't you call me?" Fred asked, a deep frown on his face. 

"Because someone needed to stay here with the kids, and besides, Bosco said he'd bring me home after he got off work," Faith told him, covering her ribs with one hand protectively. 

"Faith, the kids would've been fine by themselves for awhile," he argued. "There was no need to bother Bosco." 

"It was no bother," Bosco interrupted, glancing at Faith. 

There was a moment of tense, awkward silence. 

"You want something to drink?" Faith asked finally as she turned to look at him. 

"Uh...no. Actually, I'm gonna head home--oh, crap." He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "I forgot to sign that last report I did. I better get back to the station. If it gets filed without my signature on it, Cruz'll have my head on a platter." 

"And that's no joke," she muttered under her breath. 

He frowned, suddenly realizing how much she really disliked the sergeant, though he wasn't sure why. Not that Cruz was all that nice of a person, but she wasn't *that* bad. "I'll uh...I'll see you later. Take it easy, okay?" 

Faith nodded slowly, her eyes locking on his once more. 

"Call me if you need anything," he said, his voice dropping so only she could hear him. 

"Thanks, Bosco." 

Bosco nodded slightly and then with one last look at her, he turned and walked out of her apartment. 

* * *

Bosco was walking down the nearly deserted hallway of the 55th to file the report he'd signed when he heard an angry male voice from one of the offices frequently used by anti-crime. 

"I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses!" the man yelled. "Hang up the phone, bitch!" 

Something made him pause in his steps and he backtracked and glanced into the office to see Darryl Martin inside, glaring at a woman he was apparently interrogating. Martin looked up and saw him, then gave him a brief nod before refocusing his attention on the task at hand. 

Bosco nodded back but for some reason his gut was telling him he was missing something. 

But what? 

Shaking his head, he walked down the hall to file his report.

* * *

Bosco pulled a bottle of beer from his refridgerator and popped off the lid. He kicked the fridge shut and started to head for his sofa, figuring he'd watch a little ESPN until he fell asleep. Halfway there, he paused. 

Something had been bugging him ever since he got home from filing his report a few hours before. The whole time he was jogging, then taking a shower and fixing himself something for dinner...something had been pulling at the back of his mind and he just couldn't figure out what it was. 

With a sigh he flopped down on the couch and reached for the remote control, then realized he hadn't checked to see if he had any phone messages. He cursed himself inwardly. What if Faith had called and needed something? Or his mom? He looked over at his answering machine, but the light wasn't flashing. 

For some reason he felt compelled to hit 'play' anyway. 

A chill went down his spine as he listened to the message that Faith had left on his machine the night she'd been attacked. 

//"Bosco, it's me. Something happened, I really need to talk to you. Please call me on my cell phone when you get this message."//

He frowned, suddenly recalling that she had been on her way to come see him when she'd been attacked. Something had happened before the attack to make her need to talk to him. But what?

The second message she left began to play. 

//"Bosco, it's me, Faith. Look, if you're there, pick up." There was a brief pause. "Bosco, okay, look, I'm on my way over to your place right now. I have to talk to you, it's really important. It's 11:21 right now. I'll be at your place in like fifteen minutes, Boz, so--" 

"Hang up the phone, bitch!" a cold male voice commanded harshly.//

Bosco nearly leapt off the sofa at the sound of the second voice. No way. No *fucking* way! he thought, his heart pounding in his chest. 

He suddenly recalled the conversation he'd had with Faith the other night in the hospital.

//"You know how sometimes...sometimes it's really foggy outside? I mean, like really foggy, so bad you can't see anything. And you're in your car and you're driving and you come to this intersection. But the fog's so thick, you can't see if anything's coming from the other direction. You want to go on, but you're afraid of getting into a wreck. Sometimes you have to roll down your window and listen more carefully and pay really close attention because if you don't, you're gonna end up in a really bad car pile-up." 

Bosco turned around to look at her, his eyebrows furrowed, a blank look on his face. "Faith, what the hell are you talking about?" 

She met his gaze and held it. "I'm saying...listen more carefully, Bosco. Pay attention," she urged, her eyes pleading with him to understand.//

"Son of a bitch!" Bosco muttered in disbelief. 

* * *

Go to Part 5

Back to X_tremeroswellian's Third Watch Fanfic


	5. 5

Title: Through the Fire (5/6)

Author: X_tremeroswellian

Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. Okay, well, I don't wish Cr*z or Fr*d were mine. Ed Bernero can keep them ;) 

Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content

Spoilers: Up through and including "Crime and Punishment II" 

Summary: Sergeant Cruz's true plans for Bosco are finally revealed and they're not good. Will Faith be able to help him? Or will she be too busy trying to protect her own family? 

Distribution: My site, Only Time

Category: Story

Subcategories: Drama/angst/friendship...could evolve into romance, but we'll see ;)

Feedback: Is essential to every writer. Helps keep the muses flowing. 

Author's Note: I know I'm in the middle of writing "Between Time" and my 'There For You' series, but this story was demanding to be written and wouldn't leave me alone until I gave in. 

Author's Note II: The X-files episode mentioned is "One Son." 

Dedication: For everyone who dislikes Sgt. Cruz as much as I do. This is not to confuse the wonderful actress, Tia Texada with her character. 

* * *

Through the Fire (Part Five)

Faith sat curled up on her sofa in front of the television watching an old rerun of The X-Files on FX. 

//"Mulder, ask yourself why there is no information whatsoever on Special Agent Diana Fowley. Why she would suddenly happen into your life when you are closer than ever to the truth. I mean, you... you ask me to trust no one and yet you trust her on simple faith."

"Because you've given me no reason here to do otherwise." 

"Well, then I can't help you anymore."// 

"I'm right there with ya, Scully," Faith murmured before squeezing her eyes shut. The parallel between the plot and characters on the to her life at the moment made her shudder. 

A moment later she thought she heard a knocking sound and she paused, muting the t.v. It came again and she rose slowly from the sofa and moved toward the door cautiously, peeking out the peephole. 

Bosco.

Her heart skipped a beat as she fumbled to unlock the door and open it. He stared at her for a long moment, silent. "I have to talk to you." 

She stared back and she knew that he knew -something-. "Okay." She dropped her voice. "But not here." 

Bosco gazed at her, nodding. "Meet me at our place in an hour." 

Faith nodded her agreement. "Okay." 

He gazed at her for another moment, then turned and walked away. 

She released a breath and ran a trembling hand through her strawberry blond hair. She closed the door and turned, surprised to see Fred standing there. 

"Who was that?" he asked, his arms folded across his chest. 

"Bosco." 

He scowled. "What'd he want now?" 

Faith didn't look at him as she headed toward their bedroom. "I have to meet him. Something's come up." 

"What? You're not going anywhere, you're hurt." 

"Fred, I don't have a choice." She walked over to her closet and pulled out a clean shirt and jeans quickly got dressed, wincing as her shoulder and ribs protested. 

"Forget it. I'm not gonna let you do this. He's not worth it, Faith." 

"Excuse me? Let me?" she repeated, turning to face him. "You're not gonna -let- me do this?" 

Fred sighed angrily. "You know what I mean." 

"Look, I know you're worried, but I'm all right. I have to go talk to Bosco. It's important." 

"What else is new?" 

She didn't answer him as she headed for the door. She wasn't going to argue with him about this. She was too tired and she didn't have time anyway. 

"What is it with you and Maurice Boscorelli?" Fred asked loudly. "What is it about that guy that makes you care so damned much?" 

Faith paused in the doorway of her bedroom and slowly turned to look at him. "He's my partner," she answered softly.

"You said yourself you guys have hardly been working together the last couple months!" 

She gazed at him. "We may not be working together as much anymore, but he's still my friend, Fred. My best friend. And right now he needs my help." 

Fred stared at her silently.

"I have to go," she said softly. "I'll be back soon." Without another word, she turned and walked away.

* * *

When she got to the fountain in the park, she saw him already sitting there. "You're early," she remarked quietly, her arms wrapped around her stomach.

"Yeah. It's a first for me." Bosco gave her a small smile, which she returned. 

She sat down beside im on the edge of the water foundtain. 

There was a moment of silence. 

He turned his head to look at her. "I know," he said quietly, his voice tense. 

Faith gazed back at him intently and searched his eyes. "What do you know?" 

"I know who attacked you. I know he's a cop. And that he works Anti-Crime." He studied her. 

She nodded slowly, wondering how he'd figured it out. 

"What happened, Faith? What -really- happened? And why didn't you say something?" 

She dropped her gaze and remained quiet. 

Bosco stared at her for a long moment. "He threatened you." When she still didn't respond, he shook his head. "No. Not you. Son of a bitch," he said under his breath. "Em? Charlie?" 

Faith lifted her head and gazed at him, her eyes full of pain, fear.

He stood up. "I'm gonna get this bastard. I swear to you, I'm gonna make him pay!" 

She grabbed his arm. "You can't," she whispered. 

"If I kill the son of a bitch, he can't hurt your kids, Faith!" 

"Bosco, if it's not him, it'll just be someone else." Her eyes were pleading with him.

"I don't understand." 

"This goes deeper than you think." She gazed at him intently, willing him to understand.

Bosco stared at her. His mind flashed back to the night she'd been attacked, to the moment when Sgt. Cruz had shown up despite the fact she should've been off duty. 

//"How are you?"   
"Peachy, how are you?"   
"Just hoping I can help put these bastards away," Cruz said coolly.//

"She knew." 

"She knew what?" 

"She knew that you were attacked by two people before you told the detectives there were two!" He stared at her wide-eyed, feeling sick.

Faith felt a wave of relief wash over her and she said a silent prayer of thanks as she closed her eyes. 

"Was she in on this? Did she set it up?" he demanded, not taking his eyes off her. 

"Yes," she answered softly, meeting his gaze once more. 

"I don't get it. Why?"

"Sit down," Faith said quietly.

Reluctantly he sat down beside her and continued to stare at her as he waited for her to explain.

She took a deep breath and turned to face him. "That night. I was on my way to see you because I overheard a conversation between Cruz and Officer Dobson." 

"What conversation?" 

"I didn't hear all of it, but from what I did hear, they were planning to let you take the fall for some mistake they were afraid they'd made." She dropped her gaze.

Bosco stared at her. "You were on your way to warn me," he said quietly, his stomach tightening. 

"Yes," she said softly. "The problem was that she found out I heard her conversation." 

"So she had you attacked to make sure you stayed quiet," he finished. He felt sick. She'd been hurt because she was trying to help him. 

Faith nodded. "Yeah." 

He dropped his gaze to the ground. "Why didn't you just tell me?" he asked softly. 

She closed her eyes for a moment. "Because I was afraid that with the way things have been between us lately, you wouldn't believe me unless you figured it out on your own first. And I couldn't risk it because I was afraid for my kids." 

Bosco felt guilt rise up within him and he buried his face in his hands, trying to absorb everything he'd just found out. 

"I'm sorry that I let you down. That I didn't warn you sooner," she whispered, tears in her eyes. 

He jerked his head over to look at her. "Hey, you didn't let me down, Faith. If anything, I'm the one who let you down." He rubbed his eyes wearily.

She reached out and tentatively put her hand on his shoulder. 

"I should never have trusted her," he murmured, shaking his head. 

"You didn't know, Boz," Faith said softly.

"No. I didn't. But I do now. And I'm not going to let her get by with what she's done." He gazed at her, his blue eyes dark and intense. 

"Bosco, she's dangerous." 

"I know she is. But so am I. The difference is, I have something she doesn't." 

"What's that?" she asked.

"You," he answered seriously.

She swallowed hard. "Bosco--" 

"I have a plan. But I need your help to pull it off. I can't do it without you." His eyes were pleading with her. "Are you in?" 

Faith gazed at him intently. She nodded slightly and held her hand out. I'm in." 

Bosco took her hand. "All right. Here's what we're gonna do...." 

* * *

Sgt. Cruz was awakened from a deep, dreamless sleep by the ringing of a telephone. She rolled over and picked the phone up off the hook, pressing it to her ear. "Cruz." 

There was a moment of silence. 

"We have to talk." The sound of Faith Yokas' voice threw her temporarily off guard.

"We have nothing to talk about," she replied calmly.

"There's a warehouse on 73rd. Meet me there in two hours. Or you're gonna regret it." The line went dead. 

Cruz stared at the phone in her hand, feeling herself start to get angry. Who the hell did that bitch think she was, anyway? She narrowed her eyes and dialed a number. 

"Hello?" 

"It's me. Get up and get dressed. I'll pick you up in fifteen minutes," she told Martin. She hung up the phone. 

No one got away with threatening her. 

No one.

* * *

Faith walked into the warehouse exactly two hours later. I hope this works, Bosco, she thought, swallowing her anxiety as she spotted Sgt. Cruz. She stood a few feet away, her arms folded across her chest. Four of the other guys from ACU stood behind her, including Martin.

She felt a shudder pass through her as vivid memories from two nights ago flashed through her mind. She shoved them away. Show no fear.

"Well, this is a little unfair, don't you think? Five against one?" she remarked.

"Life's unfair, Officer Yokas," Cruz replied. She turned to look at Martin. "Search her." 

Faith swallowed hard, narrowing her eyes and glaring at him.

"Nice to see you again," he said softly as he searched her for weapons or a wire. His hand lingered on her breast for a moment.

She spat on him and he stumbled away from her, shocked. "If you ever touch me again, I'll rip off your testicles and hang 'em up as Christmas decorations, you son of a bitch." 

Martin stared at her for a second, open-mouthed. He turned to see Cruz. "She's clean," he mumbled. 

Cruz narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. "Just for your information, I've sent two guys to keep an eye on your kids. You pull anything stupid here and they'll be the ones who pay the price." 

Faith felt the rage and hatred building in side her but she managed to keep calm. "I'm ready to make a deal with you." 

"I don't make deals, Officer," Cruz replied with a smirk.

"Kick Bosco loose from the unit. Stay away from him and my family." 

"Or what?" she mocked.

"Or I'll go to Swersky and tell him everything you've done." 

"You don't know anything." 

"I know that the reason you brought him into ACU was to be the fall guy for your crimes and stupid mistakes." 

"Boscorelli is an idiot. If he's too stupid to realize what's going on, that's his problem, not mine." 

"I'll tell Swersky what I heard you say that night, and that you and your guys were the ones who attacked me and threatened my kids to keep me quiet," Faith continued coldly. "It's your choice." 

"Well, thne I guess we'll just have to get rid of you to make sure you keep your mouth shut, won't we?" Cruz pulled her gun out and pointed it right at Faith. 

She swallowed hard, her heart skipping a beat. 

"Put the gun down." 

Cruz turned to see Bosco standing a few feet away, a gun pointed at her head. She whipped around to stare at Faith. "You set me up?" 

"Hey, Sully, you get all that?" Bosco called, glancing up to the second floor of the warehouse. 

He held up the video camera. "Got it." 

"You stupid bitch," Cruz said, her eyes full of hatred as she glared at Faith. "You just killed your own kids." 

"I doubt that Lt. Swersky will let anything happen to my kids," Faith answered smugly.

Cruz cocked her gun.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said softly. Her gaze traveled past Cruz to where Davis, Gusler and four other officers stood, holding guns on the other ACU officers.

Bosco moved forward slowly, keeping his gun steadily trained on the sergeant. "Put your gun down, Sarge," he said coldly.

"No way." She kept her gun pointed at Faith.

"Take your weapon off my partner or I -will- shoot you," he warned, no hint of hesitation in his voice. He was now standing directly beside Faith. He could feel the tension flowing off of her in waves. 

"You don't have the guts." 

Bosco cocked his gun. "If you think I'm gonna let you hurt her again, you're sorrily mistaken. Now drop your gun. You're not walking away from this one. So either you leave quietly or you leave in a body bag. I don't much care which." 

Cruz stared at him for a moment, a deep scowl on her face. She slowly lowered her weapon to the floor. 

Without warning, Faith slammed her fist forward into Cruz's face and the sergeant cried out, grabbing her now bloodied nose. "If you -ever- threaten my kids again, I will kill you," she said darkly.

"Someone cuff these jag-offs," Bosco said loudly. He looked at Faith. "You okay?" 

She met his gaze and nodded slowly. "I am now." 

* * *

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	6. 6

Title: Through the Fire (6/6)

Author: X_tremeroswellian

Email: faithboscorelli1@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wish they were. Okay, well, I don't wish Cr*z or Fr*d were mine. Ed Bernero can keep them ;) 

Rating: PG-13 for language, violence and sexual content

Spoilers: Up through and including "Crime and Punishment II" 

Summary: Sergeant Cruz's true plans for Bosco are finally revealed and they're not good. Will Faith be able to help him? Or will she be too busy trying to protect her own family? 

Distribution: My site, Only Time

Category: Story

Subcategories: Drama/angst/friendship...could evolve into romance, but we'll see ;)

Feedback: Is essential to every writer. Helps keep the muses flowing. 

Author's Note: I know I'm in the middle of writing "Between Time" and my 'There For You' series, but this story was demanding to be written and wouldn't leave me alone until I gave in. 

Author's Note II: The song in this part is "Have a Little Faith in Me" 

Dedication: For everyone who dislikes Sgt. Cruz as much as I do. This is not to confuse the wonderful actress, Tia Texada with her character. 

* * *

When your back's against the wall   
Just turn around,   
you will see I will catch ya  
I will catch your fall 

Just have a little faith in me   
Have a little faith in me   
Have a little faith in me   
Have a little faith in me   
Have a little faith in me 

Well, I've been loving you for such a long, long time baby  
Expecting nothing in return  
Just for you to have a little faith in me   
You see time, time is our friend   
Cause for us there is no end   
All you gotta do is have a little faith in me   
I said I will hold you up, I will hold you up   
Your strength gives me enough   
So have a little faith in me   
Hey baby, oh, baby   
All ya gotta do is have a little faith in me   
All ya gotta do is have a little faith in me   
A little faith in me 

Through the Fire (Part Six)

Faith was in the middle of peeling potatos when she heard a knock on the front door. She wiped off her hands, frowning a little as she glanced at the clock. It was too early for the kids to be home from school and Fred was still at work. 

She cautiously unlocked and opened the door, surprised to see Bosco there. "Hi," she said, her eyes widening slightly. 

"Hey." His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his leather jacket, his gaze fixed on her intently. "Can I uh...can I come in?" 

"Yeah. Sure." She stepped aside and allowed him to come in. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she closed the door and turned to face him.

"Sleep okay?" Bosco asked, his voice and eyes equally soft.

Faith nodded. "Like a rock. I didn't even wake up when Fred left for work." 

He almost smiled. "Are you busy?" 

She gave him a confused look. "No, I was just making some potato salad for dinner."

"Should you be up doing stuff like that? With your injuries?" 

She smiled. "I'm all right." 

He studied her, worry in his eyes. "Are you sure?" His voice was quiet. 

"Yeah. It's no big deal." 

Bosco nodded, dropped his gaze to the floor. He was silent.

"Boz? What is it?" she asked softly.

"I'm sorry. That I lied to you." He swallowed hard and lifted his eyes to her face once more. 

Faith gazed at him. She didn't have to ask what he was talking abouit. She knew. "It's okay." 

"It's not." He shook his head. "It's not okay. I'm not okay with it. How can you be?" 

"Bosco--" 

"Faith, just hear me out. I shouldn't have lied, but I did it because I didn't want to take you down with me if it came down to that. I wanted to--" 

"Protect me," she finished for him.

"Yeah." 

"I know that, Bosco." 

There was a moment of silence.

"But it didn't work, did it?" His voice was soft, defeated. "You still got hurt." 

"That's not your fault," she told him.

"The hell it's not. Even after I lied to you, even after I avoided you for weeks, you still tried to warn me, to save me from Cruz and you got hurt because of it. Because of my stupidity and blindness. You shouldn't have bothered, you should have just let me take the fall." 

"No, Bosco." Faith took a step toward him. "I got hurt because that bitch ordered it to happen. Not because of anything you did." 

"It's still my fault." 

"Look at me." 

He reluctantly did so. 

"If our situations had been reversed, tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing." 

Bosco stared at her, opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't. 

"You can't do it because it wouldn't be true. You would have done what you could to help me, regardless of the circumstances. Because that's what partners do." Her voice softened. "That's what friends do." 

"So we're still friends then?" 

"Of course we are," Faith whispered. "Bosco, for nine years, you've been my best friend, the one person I can count on. You think I'd let you go that easily?" 

He swallowed hard, hesitated a moment, then moved forward and wrapped his arms around her waist, careful not to hug her too tightly.

She was a little thrown off guard by his gesture, but she quickly slid her arms around him and hugged him back. She closed her eyes tightly. 

"I don't think I could do this without you," he whispered.

"You don't have to." She pulled away to look at him. "We're partners, remember?" 

Bosco gazed at her and nodded slowly. "Partners," he echoed. 

She smiled. "All right, Partner. What do you say you help me peel potatos for this potato salad?" 

"I say you're pushing the whole friend thing a little too far." He grinned at the expression on her face. "Kidding. Only kidding." 

Faith raised an eyebrow. "Good thing for you." She turned and headed into the kitchen.

Bosco followed her. He took the bowl of potatos and the spare potato peeler she handed him and watched for a moment as she began to work on peeling a potato over the sink. "Thank you." 

She turned to look at him, understanding that though his words were light, the meaning they had was not. She smiled at him. "You're welcome. Now get busy peeling." Faith winked at him.

"Yes, Ma'am," Bosco replied with a grin. "So do I get to have some of this potato salad I'm about to slave over?" 

She chuckled. "Don't push your luck," she said, grinning back.

"Oh, come on. I'm really good at it." 

"And that's no joke," Faith said, her eyes twinkling with amusement. 

Their eyes met and they smiled. 

Bosco felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. For the first time in a long time he truly believed things were going to be okay.

All he had to do was have Faith.

* * *

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